Nintendo released the Wii U on Nov 18 and for those lucky few who managed to snag one of the scarce units, it was a wonderful day, even if they waited hours in line for stores to open, in addition to getting up extremely early on a Sunday. I was fortunate enough to pick up a Deluxe version of the Wii U because frankly buying the Basic version seems stupid (except of course for those who were at stores that ran out of the Deluxe version). With my copy of the system, I picked up a couple titles to go with Nintendoland, which came bundled with the system. ZombiU, Scribblenauts Unlimited and New Super Mario Bros. U all went into the bag with the console because Target had a buy two, get one half-off deal, which is a nice way for those picking up the system for Christmas or otherwise to boost their Wii U library right off the bat. Unlike most decent folks who did not have to work that day, but only had to go home and give the system to greedy children or those vulturistic souls who bought systems only to sell them on Amazon, eBay or craigslist in the hopes of making a profit (note: no one buy them for more than their retail price, show some backbone and wait for the next shipment before Christmas), I had to go back to work after buying my system. Thus, the unboxing of my Wii U had to wait, but luckily enough, I had fellow Gaming Illustrated writer, Chance Asue record a video of me unboxing the system.

Satisfyingly Funny Video

While opening a new system for the first time is a euphoric experience, that is only a small part of buying a new console. The most labor-intensive part is clearing out space to set up the new game system. The Wii U is easy to set up even when hooking up the sensor bar and finding a place for it. The AC plug for the system is light and not cumbersome. The only thing to do outside of plugging in the AC adaptor and the HDMI cable to set up the system was finding a good place for the gamepad’s AC adaptor and cradle. Still, the system is easy to set up physically. What will take some time is actually going through the start up routine for the system, which involves setting up the TV control option, creating a Mii, linking (and creating) a Nintendo account and a lengthy day one system update. The first several steps are easy and creating a Mii is pretty fun (to have a more accurate Mii, users can take a photo of themselves and the Mii creation system will try to approximate a number of likely faces).

I gots to have it!

The thing that will take a while is downloading and installing the system update; with servers likely slammed, the download is slow and it being a large system update does not help. So, while waiting for it to update, watch a movie or build a box kite (perhaps watch Twin Peaks or go have a damn fine cup of coffee and pie somewhere). Once the system update finishes installing then Wii U owners are ready to play games, visit the eShop (which is easy to navigate and has a clean design), or watch Netflix. Further media updates will be forthcoming and Nintendo will update users via notifications. Lastly, Wii U owners should make sure to turn off the Auto-Shut Off option off so they do not lose progress due to the system shutting down after an hour of inactivity. Then go play some ZombiU or something.

Kalvin Martinez

Kalvin Martinez studied Creative Writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He writes reviews, prose and filthy limericks. Currently, he lives in Tustin, California. He is still wondering what it would be like to work at a real police department. Follow Kalvin on Twitter @freepartysubs